Ginseng and Astragalus Pork Bladder Soup，From *Proven Tea, Decoction, and Soup Recipes for Common Ailments*,Nourishes qi and strengthens the spleen. Suitable for benign prostatic hyperplasia caused by spleen qi deficiency, characterized by an enlarged prostate, a sallow complexion, mental fatigue, weakness in the limbs, or loose, unformed stools, difficult urination, dribbling urine, a white, pale tongue coating, and a fine, weak pulse.
warming tonics readily stir heat and burden the spleen; caution is advised where dampness-heat or food stagnation accumulates in the middle; as astringent herbs are present, they should not be used early while external pathogens, damp-heat, or food stagnation remain
Commentary
At the head stands Astragalus, the sovereign, slightly warm in nature and sweet in flavor, with Spleen, Lung tropism; it tonifies qi, raises yang, secures the exterior and promotes the discharge of pus, underpinning the principal thrust of the decoction. The ministerial layer, codonopsis (nature neutral, flavor sweet, channeled into the Spleen, Lung, tonifies qi, strengthens the spleen and nourishes the lung), and pig’s bladder (with neutral nature and sweet flavor, having Bladder tropism, secures urination and astringes the lower jiao), lends support that reinforces the sovereign’s main effect. Together the herbs converge on this action, in accord with the qi deficiency pattern.